


The Archivist

by NebulousMistress



Series: The Shadow Over Atlantis [10]
Category: Cthulhu Mythos - Fandom, Cthulhu Mythos - H. P. Lovecraft, Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Episode: s05e16 Brain Storm, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-02
Updated: 2016-09-02
Packaged: 2018-08-12 15:55:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7940446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NebulousMistress/pseuds/NebulousMistress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are secrets here no one else understands.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Archivist

“Off world activation.”

I look up at the ceiling on an impulse. It's more of a glare, I admit. I've been trying to puzzle these glyphs for two hours now and I almost had it until that annoying voice came over the speakers.

Noise canceling headphones. I need to requisition some noise canceling headphones. I don't care what Dr. Jackson says about how they cause hallucinations. If the hallucinations are less annoying than that voice I might get some work done.

I'm about to get back to puzzling that glyph when my door opens.

“Archivist.”

Ah, Colonel Carter. I nod at her in greeting.

I like this title they have for me, even if no one else uses it. It's never been spat at me, never been poisoned by a sneer of disgust, never been compared to a lower life form. I only ever hear it used with the respect it deserves. The respect I deserve.

My own name no longer gives me that. It hasn't for years.

I wonder if I can forget it.

“Archivist?”

Oh, right. The Colonel is still there, still watching me. Is she worried? Why would she be? I was only lost in thought. “Yes, what is it?” I finally ask.

“The wormhole from Atlantis just came in,” she says.

“Oh? And what are they sending back this time?”

“Personnel on leave. Some minor experiments. Research relevant to your project.”

I sigh. Of course. The SGC's only known Deep One just so happens to be my old boss. Not for the first time I idly wonder how the Wraith would get along with Deep Ones; they have the same view of humanity. “All right,” I allow. The glyphs can wait until later.

I lock the Archive behind me and follow Colonel Carter to the quarantine area.

His voice echoes in my mind while I'm still in the elevator.

_It's just some boring conference, I'll be fine._ Pause. _I know it's not perfect, that's why I'm not going alone._ Another pause. _No, Sam's going with me._ Long pause. _What, I'm serious. Sam said she'd go with me! Okay, so she's coming to 'keep me in line' but still, if I have to stand around Veiled in a tux being mocked by fools who can't even begin to understand my work, at least I get to have Sam Carter hanging on my arm in a slinky evening dress._

I glance over at my elevator companion as we hit the right floor. Colonel Carter rolls her eyes. “I'm keeping him in line, all right,” she says. “And I have as much chance of showing up in a gown as he does.”

I cringe at the mental image. Even though he's usually naked the dress makes it worse. I think it as to do with the spines sticking up everywhere.

The door dings and I follow the Colonel to the quarantine area. They're little more than converted guest quarters, a formality that isn't even followed. We're not the only people in the hall. The Atlantis personnel isn't much better, moving between rooms like the SGC were nothing more than a dormitory.

A door opens before us.

I know what I look like. I keep my hair down now and I know it tangles in the gold pectoral that completely encases my neck and drapes over my chest. I know the aquatic shapes and the leering monsters wrought in that gold are unnerving to unprepared eyes. I know the work has changed my own eyes, made their blue color brighter.

I also know that of all the people, of all the creatures, of all the **things** in the SGC, Rodney McKay is the last who should be shocked at my appearance.

_You're the Archivist? But I thought Daniel would..._

“You thought wrong.” There's an odd note to my voice even I can hear. It's not the muddled gate accent, that half-Pegasus, half-Milky Way amalgam that Midway Station saddled me with. It's something different. Something new.

Something that leaves the Deep One on edge. I can tell from the way he shifts back and forth, gill plates rustling.

“Archivist Kavanagh will be handling all of your new data,” Carter says.

_Of... course..._

I bare my teeth at the Deep One. I'm sure it looks like a smile.

*****

The development of a Nest is surely interesting to watch. This is a unique opportunity not seen for thousands of years. That's what they tell me. Sometimes I agree. Usually I realize I'll never live long enough to see my research come to fruition.

Still, I am the Archivist. It's my job to collect the data, research it, pull from it the secrets held dark for far too long.

All Nests have a Mother Hydra and a Father Dagon. These ranks are based on a combination of skill and age. This makes me wonder. After all, McKay is no Dagon. Instead he's the one who Sings the Mother's Song. He Sings Veils and teaches spells and--

_They're not spells!_

I ignore his protest. It's getting on my nerves. 'Spell' is just a term for the physical manifestation of a mind's will. With enough discipline that will can bend reality toward damaging an opponent, toward twisting the minds of fools, even toward altering the patterns of Gates. It's the same idea behind Ascension.

“They're spells in the same way the Ascended are gods,” I say without inflection. “The word is more than suitable in uninitiated company.”

He huffs. I can hear his ego being stepped on. Good.

Anyway, all Nests have a Dagon and a Hydra. Who will be Dagon to McKay's Hydra, I wonder. Will it even be a Deep One? What will this Nest in Pegasus become without the influence of Cthulhu's dreams?

What will the Wraith mean for this Nest?

I don't ask the question aloud. Instead I continue listening, making notes, collecting the data to research later. There are secrets here not even McKay understands. I will find them.

That's why I'm here.

 


End file.
